Kate
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Joined: Oct 18, 2004
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Location: Vista (CA)
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 Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 9:03 pm Post subject: Roman Artichokes |
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This is a nice article I found on www.deliciousitaly.com about the famous Carciofo Romano
| Quote: | Inside Lazio
Discover Roman Artichokes
by CAROL MALZONE
My friends are wildly suspicious about why I go to Rome every spring. Am I rendezvousing with a mysterious Italian lover, hiding away in some romantic villa, surrendering to a yearly dose of love-Italian style?
Love does play a role here, but the object of my passion springs from the rich, humid earth of the Roman countryside.
I go to Rome every spring because the artichokes are in season! And a Roman artichoke, unlike a lover, never disappoints.
Although indigenous to the Mediterranean, artichokes grow abundantly in California and appear in our markets throughout most of the year.
So why would I travel 5000 miles for something I can buy at the grocery store up the street? What is so special about an artichoke from the Eternal City?
The Roman artichoke, Il Carciofo Romano, is an exquisite rendition of its American counterpart. Without thorns, its shiny purple-tinged green leaves tuck inward to form a compact and solid globe that hides, like the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box, the coveted heart, nutty-flavored and totally without fuzz.
What the Romans do to these visually splendid specimens, how they prepare them – that’s why I hop that plane to Leonardo daVinci airport every spring.
Inside the DNA of every native-born Italian is a gene that honors and reveres food. This reverence reaches exaggerated proportions for fruits and vegetables.
As each fig, asparagus or porcini season approaches, the air vibrates with an excitement similar to the anticipation for the birth of a new prince. You can’t christen a vegetable, so the Italians do the next best thing. They hold a festival in its honor.
About 45 miles from the center of Rome, the rural seaside community of Ladispoli celebrates the annual "La Settimana Gastronomica del Carciofo Romanesco." a week long competition among the town’s restaurants to make the winning "piatto dei carciofi romaneschi," the best Roman artichoke dish.
This 52 year-old tradition, held this year in April, also includes entertainment by some of Italy's most famous singers and dancers, appearances by political figures, and, most interestingly, "sculptures" of towers, fountains, stars and trees, all fashioned from artichokes.
The distance to the Roman markets from the fields of Ladispoli is a short one, so during this season bundles of freshly cut, long-stemmed artichokes arrive daily.
An important component of Italian cooking is freshness, therefore most of what has been delivered to the vendors in the morning will be served up that same day in restaurants or in private homes from Parioli to Trastevere.
There are infinite variations on every culinary theme in Italy. The presentation and preparation of food is serious business, no less important than papal edicts, ratio of dollar to Euro or Pavarotti’s vocal chords. And so it is with artichokes.
Every cook, every chef clutching an assortment of the raw glorious globes faces the challenge with the enormity of Michelangelo confronting the unadorned Sistine Chapel.
The possible methods of preparation include delicate carciofi filled ravioli, a comforting risotto di carciofi, frittata di carciofi- a wonderfully glorified rustic omelet, carciofi battered and deep-fried to a golden crispness, or an exquisitely simple insalata di carciofi , an antipasto of thinly sliced raw artichoke hearts lightly dressed with lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt.
The quintessentially dueling classics, however, the Lollobrigida and Loren of artichoke preparation, are unquestionably Carciofi alla Giudia and Carciofi alla Romana. Very little room exists for variation here.
Both preparations are begun by placing cleaned and trimmed whole artichokes in water and lemon juice. Carciofi alla Giudia (artichokes in the Jewish style) are simply dropped head first into hot olive oil, pressed until nicely browned, and then turned right side up until tender. Add salt and pepper and the crispy delectables are ready for the plate. Carciofi alla Romana (artichokes Roman style) are braised instead of fried.
Forty minutes upside-down in a covered pan with water, olive oil, garlic, mint and parsley and the result is a wonderfully tender antipasto or side dish than can be enjoyed either cold or hot.
So add artichoke season in Rome to your list of things worth waiting for, like Christmas in December, fireworks on the 4th, like that lover you get all dressed up to see once a year.
One more thing: if you happen to be in Rome and someone refers to you as a "carciofo," this is not a compliment. He’s telling you in a charmingly affectionate way that you’re pretty much of a dolt, a bore. Go figure! |
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A closed mouth gathers no feet. |
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